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Cerebellar
The cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as or even larger. In humans, the cerebellum plays an important role in motor control. It may also be involved in some cognitive functions such as attention and language as well as emotional control such as regulating fear and pleasure responses, but its movement-related functions are the most solidly established. The human cerebellum does not initiate movement, but contributes to coordination, precision, and accurate timing: it receives input from sensory systems of the spinal cord and from other parts of the brain, and integrates these inputs to fine-tune motor activity. Cerebellar damage produces disorders in fine movement, equilibrium, posture, and motor learning in humans. Anatomically, the human cerebellum has the appearance of a separate structure attached to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purkinje Cell
Purkinje cells, or Purkinje neurons, are a class of GABAergic inhibitory neurons located in the cerebellum. They are named after their discoverer, Czech anatomist Jan Evangelista Purkyně, who characterized the cells in 1839. Structure These cells are some of the largest neurons in the human brain ( Betz cells being the largest), with an intricately elaborate dendritic arbor, characterized by a large number of dendritic spines. Purkinje cells are found within the Purkinje layer in the cerebellum. Purkinje cells are aligned like dominos stacked one in front of the other. Their large dendritic arbors form nearly two-dimensional layers through which parallel fibers from the deeper-layers pass. These parallel fibers make relatively weaker excitatory (glutamatergic) synapses to spines in the Purkinje cell dendrite, whereas climbing fibers originating from the inferior olivary nucleus in the medulla provide very powerful excitatory input to the proximal dendrites and cell s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Superior Cerebellar Artery
The superior cerebellar artery (SCA) is an artery of the head. It arises near the end of the basilar artery. It is a branch of the basilar artery. It supplies parts of the cerebellum, the midbrain, and other nearby structures. It is the cause of trigeminal neuralgia in some patients. Structure The superior cerebellar artery arises near the end of the basilar artery. It passes laterally around the brainstem. This is immediately below the oculomotor nerve, which separates it from the posterior cerebral artery. It then winds around the cerebral peduncle, close to the trochlear nerve. It also lies close to the cerebellar tentorium. When it arrives at the upper surface of the cerebellum, it divides into branches which ramify in the pia mater and anastomose with those of the anterior inferior cerebellar arteries and the posterior inferior cerebellar arteries. Several branches are given to the pineal body, the anterior medullary velum, and the tela chorioidea of the third ventricle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery
The anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) is one of three pairs of arteries that supplies blood to the cerebellum. It arises from the basilar artery on each side at the level of the junction between the medulla oblongata and the pons in the brainstem. It has a variable course, passing backward to be distributed to the anterior part of the undersurface of the cerebellum, anastomosing with both the posterior inferior cerebellar (PICA) branch of the vertebral artery and the superior cerebellar artery. It also gives off the internal auditory or labyrinthine artery in most cases; however, the labyrinthine artery can less commonly emerge as a branch of the basilar artery. The amount of tissue supplied by the AICA is variable, depending upon whether the PICA is more or less dominant, but usually includes the anteroinferior surface of the cerebellum, the flocculus, middle cerebellar peduncle and inferolateral portion of the pons. Clinical significance Occlusion of AICA is consi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Posterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery
The posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) is the largest branch of the vertebral artery. It is one of the three main arteries that supply blood to the cerebellum, a part of the brain. Blockage of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery can result in a type of stroke called lateral medullary syndrome. Course It winds backward around the upper part of the medulla oblongata, passing between the origins of the vagus nerve and the accessory nerve, over the inferior cerebellar peduncle to the undersurface of the cerebellum, where it divides into two branches. The medial branch continues backward to the notch between the two hemispheres of the cerebellum; while the lateral supplies the under surface of the cerebellum, as far as its lateral border, where it anastomoses with the anterior inferior cerebellar and the superior cerebellar branches of the basilar artery. Branches from this artery supply the choroid plexus of the fourth ventricle. Clinical significance A disrupted blo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Superior Cerebellar Veins
The cerebellar veins are veins which drain the cerebellum. They consist of the superior cerebellar veins and the inferior cerebellar veins (dorsal cerebellar veins). The superior cerebellar veins drain to the straight sinus and the internal cerebral veins. The inferior cerebellar veins drain to the transverse sinus, the superior petrosal sinus, and the occipital sinus. Structure The superior cerebellar veins pass partly forward and medialward, across the superior cerebellar vermis. They end in the straight sinus, and the internal cerebral veins, partly lateralward to the transverse and superior petrosal sinuses. The inferior cerebellar veins are larger. They end in the transverse sinus, the superior petrosal sinus, and the occipital sinus. Clinical significance The cerebellar veins may be affected by infarction or thrombosis Thrombosis (from Ancient Greek "clotting") is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inferior Cerebellar Veins
The cerebellar veins are veins which drain the cerebellum. They consist of the superior cerebellar veins and the inferior cerebellar veins (dorsal cerebellar veins). The superior cerebellar veins drain to the straight sinus and the internal cerebral veins. The inferior cerebellar veins drain to the transverse sinus, the superior petrosal sinus, and the occipital sinus. Structure The superior cerebellar veins pass partly forward and medialward, across the superior cerebellar vermis. They end in the straight sinus, and the internal cerebral veins, partly lateralward to the transverse and superior petrosal sinuses. The inferior cerebellar veins are larger. They end in the transverse sinus, the superior petrosal sinus, and the occipital sinus. Clinical significance The cerebellar veins may be affected by infarction or thrombosis Thrombosis (from Ancient Greek "clotting") is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinal Cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the spinal cord, which contains cerebrospinal fluid. The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system (CNS). In humans, the spinal cord begins at the occipital bone, passing through the foramen magnum and then enters the spinal canal at the beginning of the cervical vertebrae. The spinal cord extends down to between the first and second lumbar vertebrae, where it ends. The enclosing bony vertebral column protects the relatively shorter spinal cord. It is around long in adult men and around long in adult women. The diameter of the spinal cord ranges from in the cervical and lumbar regions to in the thoracic area. The spinal cord functions primarily in the transmission of nerve signals from the motor cortex to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cerebellum Granule Cell
Cerebellar granule cells form the thick granular layer of the cerebellar cortex and are among the smallest neurons in the brain. (The term granule cell is used for several unrelated types of small neurons in various parts of the brain.) Cerebellar granule cells are also the most numerous neurons in the brain: in humans, estimates of their total number average around 50 billion, which means that they constitute about 3/4 of the brain's neurons. Structure The cell bodies are packed into a thick granular layer at the bottom of the cerebellar cortex. A granule cell emits only four to five dendrites, each of which ends in an enlargement called a ''dendritic claw''. These enlargements are sites of excitatory input from mossy fibers and inhibitory input from Golgi cells. The thin, unmyelinated axons of granule cells rise vertically to the upper (molecular) layer of the cortex, where they split in two, with each branch traveling horizontally to form a parallel fiber; the splittin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equilibrioception
The sense of balance or equilibrioception is the perception of balance and spatial orientation. It helps prevent humans and nonhuman animals from falling over when standing or moving. Equilibrioception is the result of a number of sensory systems working together; the eyes (visual system), the inner ears (vestibular system), and the body's sense of where it is in space (proprioception) ideally need to be intact. The vestibular system, the region of the inner ear where three semicircular canals converge, works with the visual system to keep objects in focus when the head is moving. This is called the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). The balance system works with the visual and skeletal systems (the muscles and joints and their sensors) to maintain orientation or balance. Visual signals sent to the brain about the body's position in relation to its surroundings are processed by the brain and compared to information from the vestibular and skeletal systems. Vestibular system In t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pons
The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other bipeds lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of Varolius"), after the Italian anatomist and surgeon Costanzo Varolio (1543–75). This region of the brainstem includes neural pathways and tracts that conduct signals from the brain down to the cerebellum and medulla, and tracts that carry the sensory signals up into the thalamus.Saladin Kenneth S.(2007) Anatomy & physiology the unity of form and function. Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill Structure The pons is in the brainstem situated between the midbrain and the medulla oblongata, and in front of the cerebellum. A separating groove between the pons and the medulla is the inferior pontine sulcus. The superior pontine sulcus separates the pons from the midbrain. The pons can be broadly divided into two parts: the basilar part of the pons (ventral ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindbrain
The hindbrain or rhombencephalon or lower brain is a developmental categorization of portions of the central nervous system in vertebrates. It includes the medulla, pons, and cerebellum. Together they support vital bodily processes. Metencephalon Rhombomeres Rh3-Rh1 form the metencephalon. The metencephalon is composed of the pons and the cerebellum; it contains: * a portion of the fourth (IV) ventricle, * the trigeminal nerve (CN V), * abducens nerve (CN VI), * facial nerve (CN VII), * and a portion of the vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII). Myelencephalon Rhombomeres Rh8-Rh4 form the myelencephalon. The myelencephalon forms the medulla oblongata in the adult brain; it contains: * a portion of the fourth ventricle, * the glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX), * vagus nerve (CN X), * accessory nerve (CN XI), * hypoglossal nerve (CN XII), * and a portion of the vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII). Evolution The hindbrain is homologous to a part of the arthropod brain known as th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neuron
A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. Non-animals like plants and fungi do not have nerve cells. Neurons are typically classified into three types based on their function. Sensory neurons respond to stimuli such as touch, sound, or light that affect the cells of the sensory organs, and they send signals to the spinal cord or brain. Motor neurons receive signals from the brain and spinal cord to control everything from muscle contractions to glandular output. Interneurons connect neurons to other neurons within the same region of the brain or spinal cord. When multiple neurons are connected together, they form what is called a neural circuit. A typical neuron consists of a cell body ( soma), dendrites, and a single axon. The soma is a compact structure, and the axo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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